


fire red, forest green

by someonesaveme



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brother Feels, Gen, M/M, but not between who you might think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27940928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someonesaveme/pseuds/someonesaveme
Summary: Tiana von Riegan cut a striking figure. Strong and proud with sharp green eyes that her son inherited.Tiana von Riegan cut a striking figure. Strong and proud with fire red hair that her sons inherited.ORClaude never mentioned to anyone that his mother was a redhead. It didn't seem that important at the time anyways, many from Foldan had that shade of hair. It didn't mean anything!
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & My Unit | Byleth, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan, Sylvain Jose Gautier & Claude von Riegan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 79





	fire red, forest green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got an idea stuck in my head that whispered what if it wasn't her father that Tiana ran from. You all have to deal with it now. This will probably be a series of little stories that leads to a verdant wind/azure moon fusion
> 
> POV of the story will shift. Mostly between byleth, dimitri, claude, and sylvain.
> 
> I do age sylvain up slightly in this fic. I was under the impression he was 20 when claude was 17. Only a few months off, ok?

“I thank you, Lady Rhea, Your Highness. My family breathes a sigh of relief, knowing the Lance of Ruin is back where it belongs.” 

Sylvain bit his lip, chin tilted down and affected an uncharacteristically demure expression. Dimitri shifted his weight, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. He never did like how Sylvain tended to act whenever his father was around. He’d almost prefer his usual womanizing.

“It is nothing,” Lady Rhea replied, flashing the margrave some teeth with her smile. He tended to have that effect on people. 

“If you must thank anyone, thank your son and his class for their valiant efforts.”

Margrave Alaric Bruno Gautier slowly tilted his head over to look at his son for the first time since he entered the room. 

“Yes, good work, Sylvain. I… understand you made the finishing blow.”

Sylvain didn’t flinch. Dimitri wishes he did.

“Yes, father….”

Inwardly, Dimitri flinched at his friend’s dead tone.

“It is nothing to be ashamed of,” Alaric said, sounding more like a command than a comfort, “A knight of Faerghus does his duty, however uncomfortable. You’ve represented our family well. Stand up straight.”

“... yes, father.”

Scratch that, Dimitri would _definitely_ prefer Sylvain’s womanizing. 

“Well,” Dimitri cut in, manners giving way to the risk that he may snap if forced to stand here and listen to this farce for one more minute, “Margrave Gautier, Lady Rhea, my sincerest apologies but might we be excused? It has been a… trying day.”

Thankfully, the archbishop immediately nodded sympathetically.

“Of course, dear child, of that I have no doubt. There will be no lessons for you or your class tomorrow, I am demanding you rest and recover.”

Dimitri sank into a bow. “Thank you, my lady. I will pass the message on to the rest of my class. Come, Sylvain.”

Looking behind him to make sure his friend followed, Dimitri missed the door slam open. He couldn’t help but jump in surprise at the sound.

**BANG**

All eyes whipped to the chamber doors as a furious looking woman stormed into the room. Her forest green eyes blazed as brightly as the vibrant red of her hair. She ignored both the prince and the archbishop, heading straight for the Margrave.

“Greetings and salutations, _ex-_ husband," she gritted out as she marched across the chamber, "Mind telling me what the _fuck_ you did to my son?!”

Dimitri and Sylvain’s eyes both widened, gaze ripping from the woman back to the margrave just in time to see his face twist into a snarl.

“ _Tiana von Riegan…_ ”

Dimitri choked on air. Sylvain choked on his sudden inhale. 

Lady Tiana whipped out her hands faster than anyone could react and began to choke the margrave.

* * *

The library, being right down the hall from the archbishop’s receiving chamber and Seteth’s office, tended to be a quiet place most of the time. However, being near these locations _also_ meant that, whenever there was some kind of commotion, you could expect to hear it there first. 

That’s exactly why Claude tended to spend so much time there. 

And the books too, of course. Today, Tomas had handed him a tome about the animals that had roamed the lands of Fodlan thousands of years ago. There were records found of them existing before the church claims the goddess ever came to Fodlan! How this passed Seteth’s censor, Claude had no idea. But he also wasn’t about to question it.

“Claude?”

“Hm?”

He ripped his eyes away from the text just in time to see Annette slide into the seat directly across from him.

“Well now, this is rare,” he quipped, flashing her a smile and closing the book,” You usually prefer to study alone, if I’m not mistaken.”

“I do! I do… it’s just…”

Annette bit her lip and fiddled with the sides of her notebook. 

“Well, I figured you always have the most recent gossip so…”

Claude blinked back his surprise. He imagined she was here to talk tactics or history, not this. Pure-hearted, friendly Annette? Looking for someone to gossip with?

“Oooh,” Claude said with a chuckle, “Fishing for rumors, are we? _Annette_.”

Annette recoiled as if he’d yelled at her.

“Ah no, I didn’t mean it like that,” Claude immediately backtracked. He always forgets how jumpy the Faerghus bunch are. “Sorry, sorry. I do hear some juicy stuff every once in a while, it’s true—call it a side effect of knowing Hilda. Please, ask away! My information is yours if I have it!”

Thankfully, that seemed to get Annette to relax a bit. 

“I was actually just wondering if you knew anything about the woman who came bursting into our classroom. She stormed in when me and Ashe were in there earlier and _demanded_ to know where Sylvain was.”

Claude snickered. Oh Sylvain... 

He hurried to wave away Annette’s concern. “Ah nothing juicy there, dear Annette. I don’t know her but I’m ready to bet I know why she’s looking for him.”

“Of course, that’s what we thought too!” Annette insisted, starting to babble in her excitement, “But she was… definitely older than Sylvain’s usual trysts… and _a lot_ more rugged looking! She was tall and pretty with red hair but she had so many piercings and she was _so_ _tan_! And had scars all over too, even one on her face! And, here’s the interesting part, when we told her he was meeting with his father so could wait in the classroom, she got even angrier! But not at Sylvain, at the margrave! She called him an old snake and swore up and down the hallway!”

Well now, that _was_ new. Women demanding to see Sylvain in a fit of rage were common occurrences in Garreg Mach. Warrior-like women cursing a high-and-mighty noble like Margrave Gautier? Out in the open, where anyone could see? That caught Claude’s attention.

Claude could practically hear his mother threatening to take his nose off if he didn’t quit poking it into everyone else’s business… but, well, his mother wasn’t here, was she? And Annette looked like she wanted answers as much as he did!

Ignoring his imagined-mother’s scolding, he leaned in. There was no hiding that curious gleam now set in his eyes. 

“Oh? The plot thickens. What’d she look like? Did she say what she wanted at all?”

“No… not really. Well, she did say she was going to… um…”

“Um?”

“R-rip Magrave Gautier’s balls out through his throat… and feed them to her wyvern…”

Claude’s brow creased. He’d heard that threat before somewhere. Many times. Mostly directed at either him or Nader, back in the country he’d all but left behind.

“I’ve heard more colorful ones directed at Sylvain, but I swear this lady meant it! She looked like she could do it too!”

Red hair, tall, pretty, scars on her face, tan, cursed like a sailor when angered…

No way. There was _no way_. He was overthinking this. But, then again, if anyone would do something so reckless it would be her… 

“Hey Annette,” Claude grabbed her attention, swallowing down his anticipation, “Did she—did the scar on her face happen to be along the left side, all the way from the top of her head to her jaw? Real nasty looking, like some animal clawed at her.”

“—with a tattoo like a dragon covering it up? Yes! So you do know her!”

Claude swore he felt his blood freeze like ice inside of him.

* * *

_“_ _Stop crying, dear._ **_This_ ** _is why you’re such an easy target.”_

_Khalid tried to hold back his tears at his mother’s words, but the attempt only made him choke and cry harder._

_Tiana rolled her eyes but she didn’t push her son off and demand he stand straight this time. Khalid took it as permission to keep crying into her embrace._

_“Fine, do as you will. I have a bone to pick with you anyways." She didn't even finish her sentence before bringing the flat of her palm against the back of Khalid's head. Hard._

_"You didn’t even try to dodge! What were you thinking?!"_

_Khalid only cried harder in response. “I’m sorry, mama.”_

_The truth was, he’d frozen. Not in a million years had he expected to look up and find the largest bull in the pen charging towards him like that._

_The wyvern doors were supposed to be locked. Why weren’t they locked? Why did they leave it open?_ **_Why did they want him dead so badly?_ **

_“I always thought he liked me…” Khalid muttered miserably into his mother’s skirts._

_At fourteen years old, the stable hand had seemed like practically an adult to Khalid’s nine year old mind. Khalid had a brother older than that, he knew. But Darius was always off on scouting missions or something else equally important sounding nowadays. Plus, Darius could be so stupid sometimes. Dana, however, still made time to play with Khalid and he always knew so much about wyverns! Khalid would even help him out around the stable and made sure he was never in the way!_

_So why would he do this?_

_Tiana sighed.“That was naive of you, dear. He was kind to you, that doesn’t mean he can’t hate you. Let your little friend be an example for you going forward.”_

_Khalid knew that now. If the wyvern that’d been set loose on him had somehow left the child with any doubts to Dana’s hatred, the curses the other boy had thrown at him when his father dragged him before the court smothered them._

_Khalid didn’t want to think about it._

_“Mama… your face…” he muttered miserably, finally unearthing his face from her skirt and immediately had to look away._

_The bandages wrapped around his mother’s face served as a grim reminder of Khalid’s naivete._

_“Darling, you worry about the stupidest things,” Tiana groaned, “Am I some maid trying to catch a man’s attention? What do I need a pristine face for?”_

_Khalid didn’t buy it for a second. He knew that his mother had been proud of her beauty, no matter what she might say. High cheekbones, long red hair paired with sharp green eyes, lean figure that belied her strength_ _—_ _his mother was a beautiful woman even in Almyra._

_And now, because of him, her hair that she used to brush three times a day was shorn bald one side so that the healers could stitch almost the entirety of the left side of her face together._

_Tiana pressed her lips into a thin line and reached down to pet her son’s hair. “I am a mother now, not some damsel. This is a mark of how I protected my son. It doesn’t bother me, Khalid.”_

_“Liar,” Khalid whispered, tears forming in his eyes again._

_“Khalid! Do I make it a point to say things I don’t mean!?” she snapped._

_Khalid jumped and shook his head furiously. His mother always said what she meant and meant what she said. She never cared for mincing words. In fact, she often scolded her son for it, claiming it was the sign of a coward._

_“Right. So am I lying to you now?”_

_Khalid shook his head again, this time shaking some tears loose with it._

_Tiana pursed her lips and, for a moment, Khalid thought she was going to get angry at him again. Then she sighed and began to rub away the tear tracks on his chubby cheeks instead._

_“In fact, I might even commemorate it. Stop those annoying tears and maybe I'll let you help me pick out something ‘cool’ to go over it.”_

* * *

The doors of the audience chamber burst open a second time. Dimitri barely had time in between holding back the infuriated woman and yelling orders to stand down at the margrave to make out the flash of yellow.

_Claude?_

Claude took in the scene before him with eyes not unlike a trapped deer’s. Fitting, and in any other situation Dimitri might make a light jab about it. As it was, he doubted anything he said would be heard over Margrave Gautier and the mystery woman's screaming.

Then, Claude shook himself out of his trance and said something Dimitri would never have expected.

**_“Mama?!”_ **

(Later, after the ordeal was over and done with, Dimitri would smack himself for not realizing. Who else did he know with the name family name Riegan? Where else would he have seen eyes that specific shade of peridot green, like the first leaves of spring? In the moment though, it shocked him so thoroughly that he actually dropped the poor woman onto the floor.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> claude's a mama's boy (even if his mama wasn't the best at emotional support)


End file.
